Chapter 037
2009 -- S 0868
Enacted 06/19/09
A N A C T
AUTHORIZING THE
TOWN OF
Introduced By: Senators Sheehan, and Lenihan
Date Introduced: April 22, 2009
It is enacted by the
General Assembly as follows:
SECTION 1. Construction of sewers and
sewerage systems and issuance of bonds.
(A)
The Town Council of the Town of
authorized to plan, acquire, construct, operate, maintain,
extend and improve a sewage disposal
system for the town or any parts thereof and to finance operation
and maintain such sewage
disposal system.
(B)
The Town is hereby empowered to employ a superintendent of sewers, to prescribe
his duties and to employ such other employees and
advisors as may be necessary and from time
to time shall fix the salaries of such employees.
(C)
The Town of
authority previously granted, to issue bonds to an amount not
exceeding ten million dollars
($10,000,000)
from time to time under its corporate name and seal. The bonds of each issue may
be issued in the form of serial bonds or term bonds or a
combination thereof and shall be payable
either by maturity of principal in the case of serial bonds
or by mandatory serial redemption in the
case of term bonds, in annual installments of principal,
the first installment to be not later than
three (3) years and the last installment not later than
thirty (30) years after the date of the bonds.
The bonds shall be signed
by the town director of finance and by the president of the town
council and shall be issued and sold in such amounts as the
town council may authorize. The
manner of sale, denominations, maturities, principal
amounts, interest rates and other terms,
conditions and details of any bonds or notes issued under this
act may be fixed by proceedings of
the town council authorizing the issue or by separate
resolution of the town council or, to the
extent provisions for these matters are not so made, they
may be fixed by the officers authorized
to sign the bonds or notes.
SECTION 2. Proceeds of the bonds.
-- The proceeds derived from the sale of the bonds
shall be delivered to the director of finance, and such
proceeds, exclusive of premiums and
accrued interest shall be expended:
(A)
for the construction of sewers and sewerage systems
including but not limited to lift
stations and pumping stations and the acquisitions, by
purchase or condemnation, of land and
interests therein necessary in connection with the construction
thereof in the town of
(B)
in payment of the principal or of interest on
temporary notes issued under section 3;
or
(C)
in repayment of advances under section 4.
The
particular facilities to be provided in each portion of the town described
above shall
be determined in accordance with priorities determined
by the town council. No purchaser of any
bonds or notes under this act shall be in any way
responsible for the proper application of the
proceeds derived from the sale thereof. The proceeds of bonds
or notes issued under this act, any
applicable federal or state assistance and the other moneys
referred to in section 6 shall be
deemed appropriated for the purposes of this act without
further action than that required by this
act.
SECTION 3. Temporary
notes.
The
town council may by resolution authorize the issuance from time to time of
interest-
bearing or discounted notes in anticipation of the issue of
bonds or in anticipation of the receipt of
federal or state aid for the purposes of this act. The amount
of original notes issued in anticipation
of bonds may not exceed the amount of bonds which may be
issued under this act and the amount
of original notes issued in anticipation of federal or
state aid as estimated by the director of
finance. Temporary notes issued hereunder shall be signed by
the director of finance and by the
president of the town council and shall be payable within five
(5) years from their respective
dates, but the principal of and interest on notes issued
for a shorter period may be renewed or paid
from time to time by the issue of other notes hereunder;
provided the period from the date of an
original note to the maturity of any note issued to renew or
pay the same debt or the interest
thereon shall not exceed five (5) years.
SECTION 4. Advances from general fund.
-- Pending any authorization or issue of bonds
hereunder or pending or in lieu of any authorization or issue
of notes hereunder, the director of
finance, with the approval of the town council, may, to the
extent that bonds or notes may be
issued hereunder, apply funds in the general fund of the
town to the purposes specified in section
2, such advances to be
repaid with interest from the proceeds of bonds or notes subsequently
issued or from the proceeds of applicable federal or state assistance
or from other available funds.
SECTION 5. Investment of money.
Any
proceeds of bonds or notes issued hereunder or of any applicable federal or
state
assistance, pending their expenditure, may be deposited or
invested by the director of finance in
demand deposits, time deposits or savings deposits in banks
which are members of the federal
deposit insurance corporation or in obligations issued or
guaranteed by the
applicable law of the state of
SECTION 6. Expenditures.
Any
accrued interest received upon the sale of bonds or notes hereunder shall be
applied
to the payment of the first interest due thereon. Any
premiums arising from the sale of bonds or
notes hereunder shall, in the discretion of the director of
finance, be applied to the cost of
preparing, issuing and marketing bonds or notes hereunder to
the extent not otherwise provided,
to the payment of the principal of or interest on bonds
or notes issued hereunder or to any one (1)
or more of the foregoing. The cost of preparing, issuing
and marketing bonds or notes hereunder
may also, in the discretion of the director of finance,
be met from bond or note proceeds exclusive
of premium and accrued interest or from other moneys
available therefore. Any balance of bond
or note proceeds remaining after payment of the cost of preparing,
issuing and marketing bonds
or notes hereunder shall be applied to the payment of
the principal of or interest on bonds or notes
issued hereunder. To the extent permitted by applicable
federal laws, any earnings or net profit
realized from the deposit or investment of funds hereunder
may, upon receipt, be added to and
dealt with as part of the revenues of the town from
property taxes. In exercising any discretion
under this section, the director of finance shall be
governed by any instructions adopted by
resolution of the town council.
SECTION 7. Security for bonds
and notes.
All
bonds and notes issued under this act and the debts evidenced thereby shall be
obligatory on the town in the same manner and to the same extent
as other debts lawfully
contracted by it and shall be excepted from the operation of
Section 45-12-2 of the general laws.
No such obligation shall at
any time be included in the debt of the town for the purpose of
ascertaining its borrowing capacity. The town shall annually
appropriate a sum sufficient to pay
the principal and interest coming due within the year on
bonds and notes issued hereunder to the
extent that moneys therefor are
not otherwise provided. If such sum is not appropriated, it shall
nevertheless be added to the annual tax levy. In order to provide
such sum in each year and
notwithstanding any provision of law to the contrary, all taxable
property in the town shall be
subject to ad valorem taxation by
the town without limitation as to rate or amount.
SECTION 8. Validity of bonds or notes.
Any
bonds or notes issued under the provisions of this act, if properly executed by
officers of the town in office on the date of execution, shall
be valid and binding according to
their terms notwithstanding that before the delivery
thereof and payment therefor any or all of
such officers shall for any reason have ceased to hold
office.
SECTION 9. Federal or state advances or grant.
The
town, acting by resolution of its town council, is authorized to apply for,
contract for
and expend any federal or state advances or other grants
of assistance which may be available for
the purposes of this act, and any such expenditure may be
in addition to other moneys provided in
this act. To the extent of any inconsistency between any
law of this state and any federal law or
regulation, the latter shall prevail. Federal and state
advances, with interest where applicable,
whether contracted for prior to or after the effective date
of this act, may be repaid as project
costs under section 2.
SECTION 10. Conditions precedent to
issuance.
Bonds
and notes may be issued under this act without obtaining approval of any
governmental agency or the taking of any proceedings or the
happening of any conditions except
as specifically required by this act for such issue. In
carrying out any project financed in whole or
in part under this act, including where applicable the
condemnation of any land or interest in land,
which shall be authorized hereby and carried out in the
manner described by chapter 1 of title 24
of the general laws as it may be amended from time to
time, and in the levy and collection of
assessments or other charges permitted by law on account of any
such project, all action shall be
taken which is necessary to meet constitutional
requirements whether or not such action is
otherwise required by statute, but the validity of bonds and
notes issued hereunder shall in no way
depend upon the validity or occurrence of such action.
SECTION 11. Assessments.
(A)
The town council shall cause the cost of constructing, operating and
maintaining the
sewer system to be paid by assessments and annual charges
as set forth herein. The town council
shall assess the costs (including financing costs and debt
service on bonds or notes issued
hereunder) of any project or projects financed under this act
which it has determined will be paid
from assessments, upon the owners of the estates which
abut that portion of any street or highway
in or along which any sewer constituting any portion of
such project or projects may be located or
which otherwise specially benefit from such project or
projects. Any such property owned by the
state of
manner and to the same extent as any other such property.
Such assessment may be made
separately for each project separately identified by the town
council or for several projects taken
together as the town council may deem equitable.
(B)
Such assessments shall be just and equitable and shall be based upon frontage
or area
within a specified reasonable distance from the street or
highway or other equitable method or
combination of methods as may be determined by the town council.
The town council shall not
make any particular assessment in excess of the benefit
conferred and may make reasonable
adjustments or deferments of such assessments against estates
having a frontage upon more than
one street or against estates which for any reason are
unable to derive the normal benefits from
the system. The town council may adopt ordinances
governing the making of such assessments
and the collection thereof. A copy of such assessments
shall be recorded with the collector of
taxes as a public record. From the date of delivery to the collector
of taxes the assessments and
interest accruing thereon shall constitute a lien upon the
respective estates on a parity with the
lien for town taxes until paid in full. The collector of
taxes of the town shall have the same rights
to enforce such liens against the estates and to collect
such assessments and interest from the
owners as he has in the case of town taxes.
SECTION 12. Sewer service charges.
(A)
The town council may fix and revise from time to time a schedule of sewer
service
charges for the use of sewer facilities and services
furnished under this act for the purpose of
paying the cost of maintaining, repairing and operating such
facilities, and any other expenses not
otherwise provided for which may arise under this act, to the
extent that monies for the foregoing
purposes are not otherwise provided. Such charges shall be
just and equitable and may be based
upon the quantity of water used or units assessed or the
number and size of sewer connections
made or the number and kind of plumbing fixtures installed
on the estate or upon the number or
average number of persons residing or working in or otherwise
connected therewith or upon any
other factor affecting the use of or the value of the
facilities and services furnished or upon any
combination of such factors. The town may provide by ordinance
for the making and collection of
such sewer service charges.
(B)
Delinquent service charges together with any interest and charges accruing
thereon
shall constitute a lien upon real estate on a parity with
the lien for town taxes. The collector of
taxes shall have the same rights to enforce such liens and
to collect the service charges and
interest thereon as he has in the case of town taxes.
SECTION 13. Appropriation of charges
and assessments.
The
receipts from sewer service charges and assessments, including any net earning
and
profits realized from the deposit or investment thereof,
shall be deemed appropriated for the
purposes set forth in this act, without the necessity of any
further action. Except as provided in
this act the assessment and collection of sewer service
charges and assessments shall be governed
by ordinances adopted by the town council and applicable
to all such charges and assessments in
the town.
SECTION 14. Other instruments,
documents and agreements.
The
town director of finance and the president of the town council, on behalf of
the town,
are hereby authorized to execute such agreements,
instruments, documents or other papers as
either of them deem necessary or desirable to carry out the
intent of this act and are also
authorized to take all actions and execute all documents or
agreements necessary to comply with
federal tax and securities laws, which documents or
agreements may have a term coextensive
with the maturity of the bonds authorized hereby.
SECTION 15. The question of the approval of this act
shall be submitted to the electors
of the town at a general or special election which is
not a primary on such date as the town
council shall designate. The question shall be submitted in
substantially the following form:
"Shall
an act, passed at the 2009 session of the general assembly, entitled 'An act
authorizing the Town of
$10,000,000 to finance the
construction of sewers and sewerage systems in the town including the
acquisition of land therefor and
authorizing the imposition of sewer assessments and user fees' be
approved?"
and the warning for the election shall contain the question
to be submitted. From the time
the election is warned and until it is held, it shall be
the duty of the town clerk to keep a copy of
the act available at his or her office for public
inspection, but the validity of the election shall not
be affected by this requirement.
SECTION 16. This section and the foregoing section
shall take effect upon the passage of
this act. The remainder of this act shall take effect upon
the approval of this act by a majority of
those voting on the question at the election prescribed by
the foregoing section.
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LC02007
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